Tech

Sinofsky Exits Microsoft: No Good Can Come of This

Microsoft just lost its most interesting leader. With the sudden and unexpected departure of Windows lead Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft essentially is without its own “Steve Jobs."

No one really knows why Sinofsky left. His goodbye email reveals a desire to seek new opportunities. That’s pretty much boilerplate language, as is his attempt to dismiss any speculation about why he left:

"Some might notice a bit of chatter speculating about this decision or timing. I can assure you that none could be true as this was a personal and private choice that in no way reflects any speculation or theories one might read — about me, opportunity, the company or its leadership."

What else is he going to say? No one liked me? I was an unbearable hard-ass that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and company could not wait to get rid of? Of course not. Not that that’s necessarily the case, but you and I both know that we don't know the full story.

Wrong Time to Go?

First of all, the timing makes no sense. Microsoft is at the first 10 yards of the most important product run in its history. Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 is a triple-down gamble that offers more change and innovation than we’ve seen from Microsoft in a decade. The company is spending millions on an aggressive marketing campaign to educate consumers on the wonders of Live Tiles, Windows Design, smartphones from partners like Nokia and, of course, the home-grown and laudable Microsoft Surface Tablet.

The man who made much of this possible? Steven Sinofsky. He has been a constant and highly visible presence at Microsoft for years. Though I was aware of him for over a decade, I met him personally in 2008 when Microsoft unveiled its plans for Windows 7. That operating system was essentially a salvage job after the disastrous Windows Vista launch (possibly the most hated version of Windows behind Windows ME).

I remember sitting down with Sinofsky as he explained the OS. He struck me as very sharp (possibly brilliant) and maybe a little bit hard-nosed. He was clearly in a rush, likely skipping from one journalist to another and didn’t have a lot of time for me. He also didn’t have patience for some of my questions about crucial parts of the Windows platform.

I asked him about the kernel — was it rewritten? — he deflected: “"It's a very important part of the operating system ... but as far as what people see, it's not a very critical part ... Our job is to hide the kernel from you."

When I asked him about the often derided Registry, Sinofsky bristled a bit: "It is metadata about everything on the subsystem, and it needs to go somewhere." I felt a bit like he was trying to explain something obvious to a very small child.

Into the Spotlight

Over the next few years, Sinofsky increasingly became the face of Microsoft. Sure, Ballmer was always around, but no technologist looks to him for deep insight about product. He knows marketing and sales and probably couldn’t banter with you at length about the registry or APIs. Maybe he could, but I live in fear of him yelling “Developers! Developers! Developers!” over and over again at me.

It was always clear to me Sinofsky knew exactly what he was talking about, and his vision for Windows reached its fruition with the daring Windows 8.

When he first revealed the ARM-friendly Windows RT to a select group of journalists at CES 2011, he appeared almost gleeful. And to his credit, that brief demo did translate into a real and effective consumer product: the Surface.

Fast-forward almost two years later to the behind the scenes tour Sinofsky conducted at Microsoft’s headquarters. As I followed him from room-to-heavily-guarded-room, he beamed like proud father showing off his kid’s science projects. His guard really appeared to be down as he rode a Surface like a skateboard and conducted live drop test that he quickly posted on YouTube.

It was always obvious to me that Sinofsky didn’t suffer fools gladly and that fellow Microsofties might have been a little afraid of the Windows mastermind. Or perhaps I was projecting. I had seen him grow impatient with journalists and watched his sunny demeanor turn dark and cutting. It was hard to imagine that that personality didn’t show up on occasion in the halls of Microsoft.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Hard-charging, never-accept-less-than-the-best leaders can mean the difference between a successful product and a dud. Sinofsky's intensity was obviously the tiny, yet powerful engine at the heart of the Windows 8 project. How could he ever afford to pull back and accept anything less than the best?

His approach and attention to detail reminded me of Steve Jobs' obsessive approach to product design, which resulted in an almost unprecedented decade-plus run of success for Apple.

The past decade was not as kind to Microsoft. Sinofsky has been slowly, but surely helping to rebuild the brand perception, while trying to convince the world that Microsoft can innovate with the best of them.

We May Never Know Why

Sinofsky’s departure, just as consumers finally get their hands on his vision (no way it's Ballmer’s) simply makes no sense.

Did Sinofsky clash one too many times with the rest of Microsoft leadership? Perhaps some didn’t appreciate the secretive approach, driven by Sinofsky, behind the Surface tablet development. One source told me that many at the company had no idea Microsoft was building a tablet. And based on the level of security and secrecy I saw at Microsoft earlier this year, I can believe it.

The last time I saw Sinofsky was at the Windows 8 launch in New York City. First, I saw him briefly outside. He was walking quickly and in pre-presentation mode: tight-lipped, moving fast and avoiding eye contact. A few hours later he was on-stage reveling in the moment. When he stepped off the stage, though, Sinofsky seemed somewhat deflated. I asked him if he felt like he had crossed the finish line and he said wearily that no, he felt he had finished the presentation. Apparently he was on his way to China to deliver a similar one.

Overall, I thought he looked and sounded a little tired. It has been a long, hard race, but I wasn’t sure he was enjoying the victory of completion. That said, I wouldn’t have pegged him to walk away just a couple of weeks later.

What’s Next?

The new Windows lead, Microsoft veteran Julie Larson-Green, is easily as knowledgeable as Sinofsky, but she does not have his personality. People followed Sinofsky, perhaps from a safe distance, but they did follow him into battle, through the field of war and out the other side to deliver Windows 8, RT and Surface to the world.

Now they’re standing on the other side alone.

Sinofsky will surely emerge in the next year at the helm of his own tech startup, and I expect big things. That said, I’m not certain this this is the future as he would have written it.

Photo by Mashable

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